Keeping the postal service up & running, one stamp at a time. Usually silly, sometimes cranky, occasionally a mix of the two.

Month: December 2015

I sent a couple of cards off on their way, both for Postcrossing Forum trades…

Kitty has to go, and it’s going to a Jetoy-desiring Postcrosser in Kuopio, Finland, thanks to a “Hello Kitty/something from your wish list” trade in which her wish list included Jetoy cards. So now before too long I should be getting, from someone, somewhere in the world, a Hello Kitty postcard. I did make a note that I’d like it better still if I were to receive not necessarily Hello Kitty (who is not a cat), but one of her friends–fingers crossed for Badtz-Maru!

The dog is going to Bekasi, Indonesia, to a person whom I recently tagged in another Postcrosing Forum trade. Back then, the tag was in a “marine life & sea creatures” trade; this time, it’s “Far East to America.” I’m the America part. The recipient had a list of desired postcards, and one of those desires was cards with dogs.

So, what did I write about? Inda nu shaak, or carmamelized onion, coconut, & egg curry! I received Meera Sodha’s Made in India cookbook as a Christmas gift, and was looking forward to getting to work on the recipes. I didn’t have to wait long; I was invited to a brunch, to which I was asked to bring “a vegetarian breakfast casserole.” Of course, I wanted to bring something I would actually want to eat–so I thought of Indian food! The finished dish was delicious: coconutty, tangy, sweet, spicy, and delicious– though it did make the most elderly of the attendees think she was “having hot flashes again.”

That postcard up top is called “While He’s Sleeping,” and the artist is Daria Danilova. I don’t know why the bunny is rubbing the ice cream on the fox, and it would probably be rude of me to ask. The card was sent to me by a Postcrosser in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and she tells me:

“I’d like to tell you about my plan about celebrating New Year: my husband and me will celebrate it on the train. 🙂 It will be my first time. Hope it will be interesting and unusual. :)”

That other card was sent to me as a part of a swap-bot “free/ad postcard” swap, and was sent by a swapper in the San Bernardino, California area. I had never heard of Bridgeport, so I had to look it up. It’s a tiny place near the Nevada border. Had you ever heard of it?

The padded envelope from Nantou, Taiwan was a little puzzling to me; I mean, I assumed it was sent to me via Postcrossing–but when this little mouse emerged, I remembered that I was expecting a little something! A fellow Postcrosser had posted on that site’s forum, looking for people interested in “hosting” a toy of hers for a time. The mouse will hang out with me for a while, I will take it here & there and take some photos, and then will send it back home. First shot up above: the toy found another mouse in my holiday tree!

Below, you see the envelope that brought my visitor, and a really cool postcard. No, that is not a real vegetable: it is the Jadeite Cabbage, which can be seen in person in Taipei’s National Palace Museum.

That little rat who is cooking is actually supposed to be a bear. The card comes from Uusikaupunki, Finland, and that is Turpo. “Urpo & Turpo,” this Postcrosser tells me, is “a fanny animation.” Let’s assume she means “funny,” okay? Okay. She goes on: “they are toy bears who want to do things when nobody is home.”

The card with all of the little Roman peeks is from Rome, Italy, and this Postcrosser tells me:

“I’m always so happy to write to someone in USA, a big big travel in your amazing country is one of my dreams! :)”

Underneath those two cards is a swap-bot chunk-o-cardboard, and this one came to me from Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany. The sender tells me all about Nappo:

“It is a very sticky nougat in diamond shape. You get them in red, blue and green and they are yummy. 🙂 It is a traditional sweet from 1920s and never changed the package or recipe. My grandpa used to say it is as tough and soft as napped leather. What do you think? Worth a try or better not?!”

Better not. If I’m going for candy, I’ll skip the candy and go for chocolate!

Stamps, stickers, postmarks:

My German correspondent tells me that as a child, she always wanted to live in a lighthouse. I might like that, too: if there were a LOT of room inside, and if I didn’t actually have to operate the thing!

Those two postcards on the left were sent to me in an envelope from a Postcrosser in Netherlands, as a thanks for the card I had sent her. I send them out now, in a swap-bot “free/ad card” trade. I was lucky to have these, as I do not tend to stumble across free or ad postcards on my own.

The Eleanor Roosevelt quote, which I don’t think she actually said–at least not in this language–is headed for Nidda, Germany. That leaves the feathery card, which goes to Brno, Czech Republic.

The hummingbirds zipped off to Brest, Belarus, thanks to a regular Postcrossing draw. The recipient, a bird lover, requested that senders write her name on the cards they send; it seems she’s not the only one in her household receiving postcards. Sounds like a great housedhold!

Garfield will go to a Postcrosser in Tampere, Finland, whose pets are a rabbit & a hamster, and who says she would like to receive postcards featuring that “lazy cartoon cat.” Hey, I wonder if there are any postcards featuring Heathcliff. I’d like to receive some of those!

The St. Augustine Lighthouse is destined for a lighthouse lover in Waalwijk, Netherlands. She also says she likes her postcards to measure 4″ x 6″, but I did not whip out my ruler.

That couple from Texas is off to a horse lover in Żerniki Wrocławskie, Poland. She says she dreams of visiting Peru & Australia, which sound like a couple of great travel destinations to me, too. I’ve received a postcard or two from Australia, as I remember–but not a single one, yet, from Peru.

I took a rare peek at the Postcrossing Blog, and learned that not only is the Singapore Philatelic Museum holding a special Peanuts exhibition right now; people who send them a Peanuts-themed postcard will receive “an exclusive museum Peanuts postcard” in return!

As I’ve mentioned before, Peanuts postcards are nearly impossible to find here in the U.S.–they are just not made for general use (mine came from making the long haul to Santa Rosa, home to the Charles Schulz Museum & its two gift shops). It’s funny–you can go into any Hallmark store, grocery store, drug store, or post office & find an array of greeting cards with these characters, but no postcards! Meanwhile, I am receiving Peanuts postcards from Postcrossers in other parts of the planet–most of those cards pretty obviously licensed & legal. What gives? Do Americans just not buy & send enough postcards to make it cost-effective for the licensees, or are they just not daring & creative enough to try–or what?

In any case, I provide this info so that you can send the Singapore Philatelic Museum a Peanuts postcard, if you have one. Heck, if you send me one, I will send you one back, too!

Can’t really tell from the scan, but “Happy New Year,” Woodstock, & Snoopy on the left are all embossed in a golden foil. Shiny!

Snoopy–that’s the card on the left–came to me from near Hamamatsu, Japan. The sender tells me that Japanese New Year’s cards like this are called nengajo. Wikipedia tells us:

Japanese people send these postcards so that they arrive on 1 January. The post office guarantees to deliver the greeting postcards on 1 January if they are posted within a time limit, from mid-December to near the end of the month and are marked with the word nengajō. To deliver these cards on time, the post office usually hires students part-time to help deliver the letters.

Yeah, we’ve been through this before–I think New Year’s cards are a GREAT idea, and I have been known to send them myself–when I can find the cards. Why don’t we have Snoopy New Year’s postcards (or any Snoopy postcards, basically) here in the U.S.?

Perhaps Snoopy postcards are not available in Zhangjiakou, China, either. Instead, I got the card on the right, which purports to be, as you may be able to make out, a “commemoration for the 65th anniversary of Snoopy tour in China.” Now, a lot of new licensed art for the Peanuts characters has dipped in quality, but this could not possibly have made the cut. Yes, I think it’s safe to say it’s a bootleg. And you know what? I’m still quite happy to add it to my slowly-growing collection of Snoopy postcards (this month being displayed around the wreath on my fireplace). The card’s sender tells me, “Snoopy company me long time,” which I assume means that s/he is a life-long fan. Well, me, too!

Stamps, washi tape, postmarks–there was so much going on with the back of these two cards, I tried to preserve as much of it as possible:

The manatees–the last of the postcards I received from last year’s renewal of my Save the Manatee membership–are off to Bekasi, Indonesia, in a Postcrossing Forum Marine Life & Sea Creatures tag. I hope I get another set of cards for this year’s renewal! As I told the card’s recipient, I have never seen a manatee in the wild–only in aquariums. I also saw the manatee’s Asian cousin, the dugong, during a visit to the Singapore Zoo.

The kitty is going out for another Postcrossing Forum trade, this one called “Taiwan Meets the World,” and it’s on its way to Taichung City, Taiwan. This user, with whom I have traded before, notes on her profile that she likes cat cards. See how accommodating I am?

Finally, a regular Postcrossing draw! I was excited to see Taiwan come up, but deflated when I see the Postcrosser has not written a profile. Well, the wonderful tiger is off to Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, and I hope that receiving a card with a 14-line message (not including formatics like date & greeting), inspires this user to tell her fellow Postcrossers a little that would inspire them as they go about preparing mail for her!

–Just as she was supposed to! It’s another “chunk of cardboard” trade via swap-bot, & this one came from Brakpan, Gauteng, South Africa. Really cool to see her country’s Rice Krispies packaging. I’m pretty sure that’s somewhat different than the character & box design we have here in the U.S. Yes, I am entertained by that sort of thing, and yes, I DO walk the supermarket aisles when traveling abroad!

There is so much going on, on the flip side of the card, I had to share! Love the stamps, most especially the fish.